Reining in Government Waste: Too Big a Job for Congress?

Watchdog groups estimate that the federal government spends tens of billions of dollars a year on programs that are unnecessary, ineffective or completely unaccounted for. Some members of Congress now argue that the best way to rein in the waste is to give someone else the oversight responsibilities. The "Government Efficiency Act," which could reach the House floor today, would create independent review commissions to evaluate whether federal programs should be continued, reorganized or abolished. Commission members would be appointed by the president, with some bi-partisan consultation. Their proposals would be fast-tracked through Congress with limited debate. The bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, a Republican from Kansas, says that parochial interests prevent Congress from making meaningful cuts. "Every government program impacts someone else’s constituents," explains Tiahrt. He argues that hectic schedules leave inadequate time for members of Congress to provide vigorous oversight. But Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat from California, who serves on the Government Reform Committee with Tiahrt, says that the legislation needlessly outsources Congress’s oversight role. "A schedule that has us out of Washington so much of time is not efficient or economical," said Lantos at a hearing a last week. "But…a potentially unconstitutional delegation of our jobs is not necessary to fix this inefficiency." Taxpayer advocacy groups say that up until now Congress has lacked the will to do its job on its own. "The question we have to ask is: what’s the alternative?" says Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union, which supports the legislation. "How long will we have to wait? We could be waiting forever."